Chapter 50: As Cruel as His Majesty

Emperor Wu of Han’s voice remained cold yet laden with majesty. "Let’s hear it."

Liu Jin felt that the old man’s method had played a role, but not a very significant one. Though his grandfather had spoken a bit more, it was still very limited.

Liu Jin carefully raised his head, wanting to catch a glimpse of the imperial countenance, only to find a figure behind the screen in the grand hall obscuring Emperor Wu of Han, who was kneeling on a straw mat.

With no other choice, he spoke up, dropping a bombshell that stunned the room: "Increase the work intensity of the refugees and disaster victims."

"Double the work intensity!"

Sang Hongyang’s body trembled imperceptibly. He cautiously raised his head and glanced at Emperor Wu of Han, only to notice that the emperor's expression remained unchanged, save for the slight upward curve of his lips, which seemed to suggest he was rather pleased with the Imperial Eldest Grandson!

Sang Hongyang thought to himself that this Imperial Eldest Grandson was simply as ruthless as His Majesty, completely disregarding the common people and exploiting them to the absolute extreme!

Those poor souls who had been displaced and lost their homes due to the drought, struggling even to fill their bellies, were already overburdened. Toiling now to build palaces and temples for His Majesty was already exhausting enough.

Yet the Grandson felt this was not enough and wanted to increase their labor burden further to accelerate the progress of the palace and temple construction.

He had long heard that the Imperial Eldest Grandson had waited outside the Weiyang Palace for a long time just to see his grandfather. Now that he had finally managed an audience, he would go to such demented lengths merely to cater to his imperial grandfather!

One might as well call him Little Liu Che!

It was fortunate that the next ruler of Han was not him; otherwise, the grandfather and grandson together would no longer know how to torment the common people.

The atmosphere suddenly turned somewhat peculiar, and the grand hall fell into absolute silence.

After a long while, Emperor Wu of Han spoke: "Is this the solution you offer? Finish the work as soon as possible to reduce expenditures?"

A day less of construction meant the imperial court would spend less money. Using this to solve the financial strain by extending working hours seemed correct on the surface, but could those ordinary people endure such a heavy burden?

Emperor Wu's attitude was ambiguous, and Sang Hongyang could not read the old man's emotions from those words, so he could only stand silently to the side, not daring to interject.

Liu Jin replied, "No."

"I only suggest one day, just for one day."

"The imperial court can issue a decree stating that any commoners who do not wish to work may leave at any time."

Emperor Wu fell into deep thought, and doubt surfaced on Sang Hongyang’s face.

"Why?" Emperor Wu asked again.

Liu Jin answered, "True disaster victims and refugees will not leave out of fear of exhaustion, because if they leave, they will only be reduced to eating Guanyin clay and tree bark."

"In the end, they will still die."

"However, at the construction site, no matter how grueling the project is, they will grit their teeth and persist, because there is still a glimmer of survival, because they can still fill their stomachs."

"Therefore, unless they are commoners who are truly starving to the extreme and have lost every shred of hope, ordinary folks will choose to leave."

Sang Hongyang’s eyes gradually widened. From initial terror to growing bewilderment, it was only at this moment that he fully understood the Imperial Eldest Grandson’s intention, causing him to see the light with sudden clarity!

The corners of Emperor Wu of Han’s mouth lifted high, revealing an impeccably timed smile just bright enough for Sang Hongyang to catch.

"Understood. You may return."

Emperor Wu said calmly.

Liu Jin bowed and said, "Then this grandson takes his leave."

Leaving the Xuanshi Hall, a smile gradually crept up the corners of Liu Jin's lips. He was probing Emperor Wu of Han's bottom line step by step. Today, he had said a great deal to Emperor Wu, and Emperor Wu had said much to him in return.

Yet the one dominating this conversation was clearly no longer Emperor Wu of Han—the momentum between the attacker and the defender had shifted!

...

Xuanshi Hall.

Emperor Wu of Han stared at Sang Hongyang and asked, "What did he mean by that?"

Sang Hongyang hurriedly bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Grandson is so brilliantly intelligent that this minister is in awe."

"If we follow the Grandson's strategy, we can weed out a large batch of opportunistic commoners who have slipped into the construction teams to make up the numbers, eliminating the need for more aggressive methods of distinction."

"We merely make them suffer for a single day, and return things to normal on the second day. I believe the commoners will hold no resentment. Those burdened beyond endurance by the labor will naturally choose to leave due to the overwhelming workload."

"For the refugees and disaster victims, they have no way out; but for ordinary commoners, they still have a retreat."

"This minister humbly believes this solution is currently the optimal one. The Grandson's brilliance leaves this minister bowing in inferiority!"

Emperor Wu nodded slightly, looked up at Sang Hongyang, and asked, "When you first heard about this, did you think he was ruthless? Did you think he was just like me?"

Sang Hongyang felt his heart skip a beat. He had merely trembled slightly at the beginning and cautiously glanced at the Emperor, yet His Majesty had guessed every single one of his inner thoughts.

The older he got, the more unfathomable he became.

Whatever Sang Hongyang answered would be wrong. If he agreed that the Grandson was ruthless and like the Emperor, it would undoubtedly mean calling the Emperor a ruthless ruler.

If he said the Grandson was not ruthless, anyone with eyes could see it was deceit toward the throne.

"Answering Your Majesty, at first this minister did think the Grandson was ruthless, but upon hearing the rest, this minister felt deeply ashamed. The Grandson is indeed much like Your Majesty—both possess far-reaching foresight that goes far beyond what this minister can fathom."

Emperor Wu smiled for once. "It seems you have been on very friendly terms with Shangguan Jie recently."

Faction-forming was a grave crime. Just as Sang Hongyang was about to open his mouth to refute, Emperor Wu added, "You've learned quite a bit from him."

Only then did Sang Hongyang realize that the Emperor was mocking him for being slippery.

Who didn't know that Shangguan Jie was renowned for his slickness?

Sang Hongyang’s heart rose and fell like a roller coaster; this veteran minister was completely manipulated in the palm of Emperor Wu’s hand!

"Then how do you think he compares to his father?" Emperor Wu continued to question.

Sang Hongyang hastily replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this minister has not known the Imperial Eldest Grandson for long and dares not offer presumptuous commentary."

Emperor Wu let out an "hmph" and said, "You said this strategy is very good?"

"Yes."

Emperor Wu continued, "Then if I ask you to disburse some funds from the imperial treasury to the Imperial Eldest Grandson to reward him for his strategy today, you surely won't refuse, right?"

Sang Hongyang: "..."

The Grand Treasury and the Private Treasury were separate. Once the functions of the Grand Commandant of Agriculture and the Privy Purse were separated, the Han Dynasty drew a distinct line between the finances of the outer court and the inner palace.

The money Emperor Wu could spend at will was earned for him by the Privy Purse; he could not freely squander the finances controlled by the Grand Commandant of Agriculture.

Sang Hongyang had never imagined that the Emperor was laying a trap for him right here.

"This minister... does not dare to refuse."

"This minister dares to ask Your Majesty, how much needs to be disbursed to the Crown Prince's Palace?"

Emperor Wu stated, "It is to be disbursed to the Imperial Eldest Grandson."

Sang Hongyang froze for a moment. It seemed that in the Emperor's mind, the Crown Prince's Palace and the Imperial Eldest Grandson were two different things.

"Thirty thousand coins?"

Sang Hongyang: "..."

"Your Majesty, I truly cannot disburse that much."

"How much can you disburse?"

"Thirty thousand coins would be doable."

Emperor Wu let out an "oh" and said, "Then send that to him as a reward for his strategy today."

"Oh, and have Shangguan Jie carry out my grandson's strategy as well."

"As you command!"